Early humans left Africa and reached Asia earlier than thought, fossil discovery reveals
Humans originated in Africa, but when exactly our earliest ancestors left the continent and how they spread around the world has been intensely debated by archaeologists.
Two fossils unearthed in a cave in northern Laos suggest that Homo sapiens, our own species, was living in the region some 86,000 years ago, according to a new study involving Australian researchers.
The finding challenges the prevailing idea that humans' path across the globe was linear and took place in a single wave about 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
"Chances are that this early migration was unsuccessful, but this does not distract from the fact that H. sapiens had arrived in this region by this time which is a remarkable achievement," study author Kira Westaway, an associate professor at Sydney's Ma...